Thought I had seen some creative fish snagging techniques but this one appears to top all that I have seen to date.

Must be some real serious men fishing down in Arkansas.

Fly Fish Arkansas - Any Comments.

These guys are to lazy to even reel (electric motors on their reels)

Oh well its only cat fish, and few other non game fish, but I wonder how many game fish are incidential catches, and dead ones I am sure at that.

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/general/columns/sutton_keith/1381517.html

Tod D

05-15-2002, 07:44 PM

Seems a bit barbaric. Realize that cats aren't exactly considered gamefish (they are good eatin' though, but I digress...), but doesn't seem particularly sporting.

What's the straight dope on this Flyfish Arkansas???

Quentin

05-15-2002, 07:48 PM

I wonder why they don't just use bait??? It's not like catfish are finicky eaters!

FlyFishAR

05-15-2002, 08:38 PM

Since when did I become the snagging expert?????

However, I have run into these guys in the coffee shops for years. They have it to a fine art. They tie their treble hooks 3 at a time to a nylon rope dipped in Anise (sp?) oil, which is some kind of fish attractant. Their reels are tuned like little Ferrari's to cast with Steve Rajeff any day. They make no bones about pushing the limits of the game and fish laws either. A few weeks ago one of them was telling about paying the $100 fine for getting to close to the dam in his boat. Apparently, he had one of his better evenings and it cost him $300 in fines (geez). The all time classic are the guys that take little radio controlled boats to carry thier snagging hooks right to the edge of the dam (legal) and drop off their wad of snagging hooks. There is a ledge that is at the bottom of most dams to prevent washing from the flood spillway that is the catfish Valhalla. These guys will do anything and everything to get there. One of these days I'll have to sugesst they try swimming.:devil:

I am at least glad to see our Governer has moved out of the triple wide that was the Arkansas White House for the last couple of years. (I'm not kidding) :rolleyes:

John

Tod D

05-16-2002, 11:38 AM

Sorry about that John! Kind of silly (of me) to assume you'd know the ins-and-outs of snagging.

My sister lived in Little Rock for 2 years and would regale us w/ terrific stories of LR and Ark politics & shenanigans. Heard all about the triple-wide temporary quarters. But, hey I'm in Massachusetts, where it takes our legislature 8 months into the next fiscal year to set a budget that's still out of whack...

pmflyfisher

05-16-2002, 12:11 PM

Whats this triple wide temporary quarters in Arkansas ?

Evers since Bill has went low profile I have not kept on Arkansas politics.

John, if I get down for the brown fishing would like to meet some of these real men doing that "snatching".

What kind of beer do they drink?

Hal

FlyFishAR

05-16-2002, 05:37 PM

Hal:

When they remodeled the Governer's mansion here in Arkansas, our fair Governer bought a triple wide to live in. It was really nice though. He had the governer's limo in the front yard...up on blocks. He had a nice 32" TV sitting on top of his nonworking 36" TV. His pure blood hunting dogs were neatly tied out back. And for Christmas they had a 20 foot tall plastic Santa waving in the front yard.

I love it here!!!

The trailer is the truth...

John
aka... the snag miester

pmflyfisher

05-16-2002, 08:12 PM

John,

You have got to be kidding, right ?

Will check it out with my super internet search tools.

More rain up here rivers are raging, but this could be good to bring the summer runs in sooner this year.

Smallmouth and trout stream fishing is hold for a while though.

Hal

juro

05-16-2002, 08:24 PM

No guilt by association here John, we know you are worlds apart from snagging. There are several members from the region that have been to White R. and they all come back amazed at what you have there. Despite what others do around the corner.

WHy don't they catch cats like real men... noodlin'

:eyecrazy:

FlyFishAR

05-16-2002, 08:43 PM

Juro:

Noodling? OMG I've done that!!! It is impossible for me to relate emotion through text, but trust me I am rolling on the floor holding my sides over these posts. I have been a little desensitized by all the goings ons here in Arkansas. Can you believe Juro and I were taking about the finer style points of indicator fishing a while back. I've been shot at floating in a canoe on the middle fork of the Illinois Bayou (I can hear the banjo music in the background). Hal and I have been emailing each other about the guys doing anything from snagging, dumping rotanone poison, to throwing C4, on brown trout no less. AGFC is proposing this year a regulation that bans the use of canned corn as chum for trout. This will make the 3rd year in a row that it will be defeated. The Brown trout fishery has done well in spite of us, not because of us.

Yes Hal, our fair Governer lived in a triple wide mobil home while the Governer's mansion was undergoing renovations. He could make Jesse Ventura look like William F Buckley.

John

pmflyfisher

05-16-2002, 09:01 PM

Governor Mike Huckabee looks like quite an outdoors men.

Never say a camoflauged black labrador before whats up with that ? :confused: Does not leave anything to chance camoflaging the dog also.

Got to get down to Arkansas now that Bill and Hillary are gone.

Surprised Leno has not mentioned him, some good material perhaps.

http://www.accessarkansas.org/governor/photo/pages/hunting.htm

FlyFishAR

05-17-2002, 07:08 AM

Hal:

Jay Leno had a field day with that!!!!

I am giving Arkansas some fair ribbing here. Like telling Aggie jokes, or something. I guess you have to live here to really appreciate it. I hope you guys know I am kidding of course and I am really proud of our fisheries and our state. Mike Huckabee has always been a big supporter of the any outdoor sport. When we won a silver medal he had us all come to the Capitol and gave us all certificates, took some pictures, shook our hands, ect. He fishes in bass tournaments, duck hunts, the works. He has had his office call several times about going fly fishing but always cancels out at the last minute. If I can ever get a 20lb Brown trout on the end of a fly rod for him he'll throw that bass rod in the lake. Maybe I can bend his ear a little about the C&R regulations while I'm at it ;)

You guys don't have to hold your tongues with the Arkansas jokes. I've either heard them all, and probably told them twice. Besides the guys I fish with will thicken your skin pretty quick.

John

pmflyfisher

05-17-2002, 08:39 AM

John,

Yes you will have to get him into trout fishing and convince him that more C+R FF only rivers sections are necessary. How many of those do you have there?

Saw another picture of him holding a turkey dressed in his all camoflauge suit on that web site also. (FYI: I gave up hunting in 1971 could not see the sense in killing animals any more. Gave up killing fish in around 1985, C+R only, heck I do not even have any fish mounted on the wall, could of though)

I watch the first 15 minutes of Leno just about every night and then hit the sack.

Hal

FlyFishAR

05-17-2002, 09:16 AM

I would imagine that everyone on this board has some history that involves the learning curve associated with their hunting and fishing resource. My family still lives in west Texas and has game hunting ranches that occupy close to 50,000 acres in various locations. Years of herd thinning has pretty well has filled my lifetime hunting quota. Not to get on a soap box about C&R again..... I try not to "tell" people what their opinions should be on the matter. Rather, I try to set a personal example of how I chose to do it. When people see the pictures, the articles, ect I always attempt to mention that I practice catch and release of my fish. I hope there are a few converts every time. If not I'm not going to beat them about the head and neck for it. You certainly don't want to know the skeletons in my closet. I've probably made every mistake possible by now. I just hope that there are some that are capable of learning faster than I did.:rolleyes: